Several feuds erupted during the making of Star Trek
Forgotten by all but dedicated fans, Star Trek’s original television series (known as TOS for “The Original Series among trekkers) was only in production for three years. During that time the program suffered from poor ratings, struggled to find an audience, and endured considerable feuding among its cast. William Shatner was the unchallenged star of the show when it entered production in 1966 but among fans and critics, it was Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock who emerged as the breakout character. Shatner’s ego did not accept the challenge gracefully, and a petty feud erupted between the two, mostly driven by Shatner. In one episode, Shatner demonstrated a high school mentality when he hid Nimoy’s bicycle, the latter’s favored means of moving about the set. The feud grew more threatening to the production when Shatner began to demand lines meant for Spock be given instead to Kirk.
To Shatner, Kirk, as Captain, represented the all-knowing entity on the starship’s bridge. Eventually the two actors squabbled over access to offstage writers and reporters, competing for interviews and photo spreads, with each desirous of more input to storyline scenes featuring their characters. Their feud died with the program when Star Trek was canceled and during the hiatus between the end of the show and the first Star Trek motion picture their differences were forgotten and they became close friends. They worked closely together in several of the subsequent films, and appeared together at conventions and in documentaries about what became the Star Trek franchise. Shatner later wrote a book about his costar, Leonard: My Fifty-Year Relationship With a Remarkable Man. But their squabbles emerged again near the end of Nimoy’s life, years away from the Star Trek. When Nimoy died he hadn’t spoken with Shatner for several years.